Surgical pad



W. M. SCHOLL June 6, 1967 SURGICAL PAD Original Filed April` 14, 1964 M R. 0 S ,my m w V w` m. w M A M M. u f Y n United States Patent O 3,323,522 SURGICAL PAD Wiiiiam M. Scholl, 213 W. Schiller St., Chicago, Ill. 60610 Original application Apr. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 359,733, now

Patent No. 3,243,877, dated Apr. 5, 1966. Divided and this application Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 509,674

3 Claims. (Cl. 12S-153) This application is a division of applicants copending application entitled, Surgical Pad and Method of Making Same, Ser. No. 359,733, led Apr. 14, 1964.

This invention relates to improvements in a surgical pad, and more particularly to a pad of the general character utilized for the alleviation of corns, callouses, bunions, and similar aiictions, although the invention may have other uses and purposes as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

While corn, callous, bunion pads, and similar surgical pads are made from various materials, there are occasions when, [by the nature or location of an affliction or circumstances surrounding that aiiiiction the use of a pad having a body at least made of felt or equivalent material is indicated or deemed more desirable. There are also many cases where a pad that is thicker at one end than at the other is indicated. In the past, it has been found exceedingly irksome and objectionably expensive to carve or cut felt or equivalent cushioning material into a desired shape, and more particularly form a pad from such material that is thicker in one location than it is in another. While felt has been beveled and also cut so as to provide a fine bounding edge, it has always been easier to work with felt in the form of a flat sheet, and in no instance in which I am aware have wedge-shaped pads been produced with felt as the main cushioning medium.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instant invention to provide an economical surgical pad having a wedge-shaped cushioning body of felt or similar material. I

Another object of this invention is the provision of a surgical pad having a body part of felt or similar material which varies in thickness.

A further desideratum of this invention is the provision of a surgical pad having a lbody of felt or similar cushioning material and which is shaped to a desired configuration and contour and which varies in thickness.

A further important object of the instant invention resides in the provision of an economical method of making a surgical pad with a body of felt or similar material having a shaped contour.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an economic and rapid method of shaping felt or similar cushioning material.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantages of this invention have been above pointed out, others will become apparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating in general the method embodied inthe instant invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the structure of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary greatly enlarged side elevational view of a portion of the structure of FIGURES 1 and 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective View, greatly enlarged, of a pad embodying principles of the instant invention `and made under the method also embodied in this invention.

As shown on the drawings:

In view of the fact that each individual component of the apparatus used in making the instant invention is well known in the art, the apparatus itself has been diagrammatically illustrated in the drawings.

The felt 1 or similar cushioning material from which pad bodies 2 are ultimately cut is first provided with a spread of pressure sensitive adhesive 3, FIGURE 4, over its undersurface and then formed into a stock or supply roll 4. The felt 1, in the form of a dat strip of uniform thickness, may be of any desired thickness, 1A; to Mt inch being satisfactory for most usages. The felt strip may also be of any desirable or suitable width. In some instances, it may be deemed more advisable to use a strip four feet or better in width and cut pads entirely across the strip at successive locations, while-` in other instances it may `be desirable to use a strip 31/2 or 4 inches in width and sever a given number of pads thereacross at a time which may be then scraped upon a facing sheet for individual packaging.

In making the pads,the stock roll 4 of adhesived felt 1 is mounted on a suitable shaft or axle 5. The felt is unwound and anchored by the adhesive undersurface to a conveyor 6 mounted on opposed rolls 7 and 8, one of which rolls may be intermittently turned yby hand -or intermittently driven mechanically. This conveyor 6 is preferably an endless piece of belting, sheet metal, or any other Suitable material but must be provided with a release outer surface so that the finished pads and waste material of the adhesived felt may readily lbe removed from the conveyor. Such release surface could be a silicone compound, polytetrauoroethylene, or any other suitable material. Notwithstanding the release coat, after a reasonable portion of the felt 1 has been adhesively associated with the conveyor, there will 'be sufficient adherence for the conveyor to draw the felt off the supply roll 4. The upper reach of the endless conveyor passes across the top of a -bed plate 9 which provides adequate backing for the plurality of cutting operations performed upon the felt.

At the rst operative station, the felt is acted upon by -a driven grinding roll 1@ which rotates at relatively high speed. This grinding roll is mounted on a shaft 11 which may `be driven by any suitable mechanism such as an electric motor, and the roll may be driven continuously or intermittently as may be deemed most expedient. The

roll is either molded or else surfaced with a suitable abrasive substance preferably of a tine character such as emery dust for example, silicon carbide or other suitable material. This roll 10 is periodically elevated to allow advancing of the felt between grinding operations as indicated by the arrow 12 in FIGURE 1.

As seen best in FIGURE 3, when the grinding roll is brought down upon the sheet of felt 1, it forms a concave groove 13 in the felt which may be to whatever depth is desired. The width of the groove depends upon the desired length of pads to `be made from the particular run of felt, and that width is determined by the diameter of grinding roll used. In FIGURE 3 I have indicated how different widths may be made `by substituting grinding rolls 10a and 10b for the roll 10, the substitute rolls being of smaller diameters than the illustrated roll 10 and consequently provide narrower grooves. Of course, grinding rolls of larger diameter than the roll 10` may also be utilized.

At the next operation station, the grooved felt passes under a die housing 14 which reciprocates vertically as indicated by the arrow 15 in synchronism with the advancement of the felt 1. This die :housing may move simultaneously with the movement of the roller 10 or independently of the up and down motion of that roller as may 'be deemed -most eiicient. The die housing contains suitable die elements of the kind used in the past to sever pads from strips of felt and the like and these die elements are shaped to sever confronting pads 2 leaving diamond-shaped pieces 16 of waste therebetween. As seen in FIGURE 2, the pads are pointed at one end and are cut with the points of adjacent pads toward each other, two rows of pads being cut across the felt strip in each of the grooves 13. It is preferable in many cases owing to the closeness of the successive grooves 13 in the felt to space the die mounting 14 from the grinding roll a distance so that one or more of the grooves 13 will be visible therebetween to facilitate easy inspection and leave room for changing rolls or dies.

It will Vbe obvious to one skilled in the art that pads of various shapes may be cut from the felt, and for the differently shaped pads differently shaped dies are substituted.

In practice the pads may `be made extremely rapid and economical. Once the felt is connected with the conveyor 6, and the rst two or three grooves have been ground out by the roll 10, the operation is virtually continuous except for the fact that the felt strip moves inter mittently to permit the grinding roll and dies to act. Thereafter at each increment of motion of the felt strip, a new groove is ground out of the felt, and a double row of pads are cut through a previous groove transversely of the strip. The pads after passing from beneath the die housing are available for easy removal of waste stock and the pads may be readily scraped from the conveyor and mounted on suitable facing sheets either made entirely of a release material or having a release coating thereon to protect the pads while packaged and until they are put to use. In the showing of FIGURE 4, such a facing sheet is illustrated at 17, it 'being understood that when the pad 2 is to be applied to the body of the user, the facing sheet is removed and discarded.

Cutting a double row of pads `across the felt 1 in a groove with like end portions of the pads in each row confronting each other results in the provision of a wedge-shaped pad 2. In the illustrated instance this pad has a thicker back wall 18 and a thin front wall terminating in a point 19 connected on each side of the pad by a straight side wall 20 and a diagonal front wall 21 which converges with a similar front wall 21 on the opposite side of the pad. The side wall 20 and the corresponding converging wall 21 gradually lessen in height from the rear wall 1S to the point 19. As a result of cutting the pad in the groove, the upper surface of the pad will have a slight curvature or in other words be slightly concave as indicated at 22 in FIGURE 4. If desired, an aliction receiving opening 23 may be provided in each pad at the time the pad is cut from the felt strip.

The pad forming the illustrated embodiment of this invention will be disposed on the body with the point 19 or thin end of the pad forwardly toward the ends of the toes, and thereby the pad is enabled to eliminate shoe pressure gradually toward the thicker rear end which is the most effective way of accomplishing such pressure relief. The concave upper face of the pad will enhance this relief of pressure, because when the pad is bulged slightly by way of the curvature of the foot, the upper face will become more nearly at so that shoe pressure is relieved in an even and effective manner. It will lbe understood, however, that other shapes of pads may be cut in the same manner but will result in the wedge formation from the forward end toward the rear.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided economical corn, callous, bunion and similar surgical pads having a body portion of felt or equivalent cushioning material, and the pads are of a shape designed to provide a gradual even and substantially uniform relief of pressure from an acliction protected by a pad.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A surgical pad comprising a die-cut wedge-shaped one-piece body part of felt,

said body part having a ground-oft" top surface whereby said part is thicker at one end than at the other, and

a spread of pressure sensitive adhesive carried by the underside of said body part.

2. A surgical pad comprising a die-cut wedge-shaped one-piece felt body part having a ground off top face whereby said body part has a high rear edge, straight side edges gradually decreasing in thickness forwardly, and converging front edges terminating in a point of least thickness.

3. A surgical pad comprising a die-cut wedge-shaped one-piece felt body part having a ground off top face whereby said body part has a high rear edge, straight side edges gradually decreasing in thickness forwardly, and converging front edges terminating in a point of least thickness, means to attach said part to the body of a user, and the top face of said pad body part being slightly concave from the rear edge to said point.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 897,920 9/1908 McIntyre 128-153 X 1,930,413 10/1933 Bruel 12S-81 2,148,882 2/1939 Scholl 12S-153 2,183,701 12/1939 Toner 128-153 2,509,159 5/1950 Mack 2-268 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examinerj 

3. A SURGICAL PAD COMPRISING A DIE-CUT WEDGE-SHAPED ONE-PIECE FELT BODY PART HAVING A GROUND OFF TOP FACE WHEREBY SAID BODY PART HAS A HIGH REAR EDGE, STRAIGHT SIDE EDGES GRADUALLY DECREASING IN THICKNESS FORWARDLY, AND CONVERGING FRONT EDGES TERMINATING IN A POINT OF LEAST THICKNESS, MEANS TO ATTACH SAID PART TO THE BODY OF A USER, AND THE TOP FACE OF SAID PAD BODY PART BEING SLIGHTLY CONCAVE FROM THE REAR EDGE TO SAID POINT. 